Motherhood Missed: Stories from Women Who Are Childless by Circumstance - Paperback

by Lois Tonkin (Author), Jody Day (Foreword by)

Many women expect to become mothers but are childless through social rather than biological reasons - perhaps they haven't met the right person or they prioritised career or education earlier in life. Featuring international interviews by grief counsellor and researcher Lois Tonkin, this collection of first-person stories provides insight into the under-discussed situation of being childless by circumstance.

Each story highlights the different aspects of being childless by circumstance, as women move through their 30s, 40s, and 50s, and beyond their ages of fertility. The book explores feelings of grief and loss, and also how women adapt positively to their changed life expectations, finding excitement in the alternative, rich and complex shapes their lives have taken.

Author Biography

Dr Lois Tonkin is a counselling lecturer at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. She has worked in private practice as a writer, counsellor, supervisor, and educator about loss and grief for over 25 years.